Veeck was a genius. After midgets were banned from playing he found an even better use. He hired Gaedel along with several small friends and had them serve as ballpark vendors. Veeck had been getting complaints about normal-sized vendors blocking the view.

wkelly91 wrote:If I were a midget I would sue MLB and get a spot at the end of the bench for $250,000/year.

In todays PC world how could they deny me

Sadly, you are probably right, wkelly91. On the other hand I can sue the NBA to force them to let me play. So what If I can't shoot, jump, dribble or play defense. It is discriminatory for them to hold that against me.

They ban midgets still? That seems just wrong.....there must be a way around it where they don't just go out and say "you have to be this tall to play". There must be a minimum size for the strike zone or something, so if you're tiny of crouch down a lot, you can still be K'd.

HS Kid from Lewiston, MaineDrafted in the 4th round by the Yankees in 1967 draft:Pitched in 2 games--started 1:7 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 2 BB, and 7K's....but the loss....but he never played again

Hello people......Dunno if anyone still remembers this old thread (or cares) but.......I had a couple of answers about these people so I figured why not.

I sort of "knew" Larry Gowell, and I have a good guess about why he never pitched again in the ML.At the time, I was in school in Milwaukee, and, being a Yankee fan, I tried to get to County Stadium whenever the Yanks were in town. After a game in September, I was hanging out by the Yanks' clubhouse door and talked to some of the players. One of them came up to me (for no particular reason) and asked if I could GIVE A RIDE to him and one of the other guys. Larry Gowell was the other guy. He had just been called up ...... hadn't been in a game yet. The NEXT day, the Brewers were winning in a blowout, SO THE YANKS GAVE THE KID A CHANCE. He was terrific -- shut out the Brewers for a couple of innings. I was extra-excited because I was the only one in the ballpark who had any idea who Gowell was. As you noted, he later got that one start, and did very well although he took the loss.

AS TO WHY HE NEVER PLAYED AGAIN: During our ride, he spoke of how his RELIGION limited his playing time. He was (and, I imagine, is) a practicing Seventh-Day Adventist, which means NOT WORKING ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY (just like Orthodox Jews). Obviously this makes it tough to keep a roster spot, even for a pitcher. I assume that's the reason he never got another shot.

By the way......as you might gather, he seemed like a terrific guy. I was sorry he didn't see more ML time, but hopefully and probably he's had a nice and satisfying life regardless.

A fun fact, Allen Travers was seminary student. He only pitched because Cobb was suspended for beating a handless New York spectator who called him a name. After Cobb was suspended the rest his teammates went on strike, so the Tigers management patched together a team to play the day's game. They got Travers to start. The Tigers lost badly.